battleMETAL News

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Let's see, last update was in January...

" I think end of Q1/2023 is realistic, but it might slide to Q2"
- me in January 2023.

That turned out to not exactly be realistic, Q3 is now looking to be the release window and maybe early Q4.

Since that update I've refined and polished the 3 new campaign maps; O3M1, O3M2, O3M3. I split the 'finale' map into 2 pieces (O3M5 and O3M6) because its just that big now. Various other maps have add large revisions to their layout and detail, and I spent a chunk of time fixing bugs with objectives and mob spawn zones.

The Save file has been revamped to be simpler to parse and turns out there were several bugs with inventory unlocks and tracking! (fixed now).

I've also redone the inventory unlock progression over the entire campaign, players get fun toys much faster and same with the mechs. If you've played through the campaign, I recommend starting over to experience the new stuff.

and so much more, the actual patch notes will probably be fairly long.

I just wanted to post an update here to let players know that development has been in progress.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

I know its been almost a year since I've posted any update to the steam page, but I have continued work on the game where I can find the time.

Originally I had only planned to do a few map updates and some code refinements for a hypothetical '4.0.0' release. This completely morphed over 2022 into something way more involved. Through conversations with the Darkplaces engine community and some experiments on my side, I was able to vastly improve framerates and refine the game's aesthetics.

I was also able to finally fill in the missing 3 missions from Operation 3. The campaign was originally set up to have 15 single player missions and due to crunch in 2020 I only get 12 complete. 5.0.0 will have 3 brand new missions and the finale mission of the game has been completely rebuilt from the ground up.

Other big changes were around quality of life for the player: the UI has been cleaned up, animated reticles and 360 target pointers have been added in. 3D armor diagrams are also in, making visualizing damage a lot easier. I've also rebalanced all AI to be less bullet-sponge, its much more satisfying to play as light mechs now.

So, when?
That's the tough call to make. I have about 30% left on mapping to do, and I am currently deep into fixing some networking and graphics issues in the game code. I think end of Q1/2023 is realistic, but it might slide to Q2. I've been fighting serious burnout on this project and to address that I've been trying to take my time.

I appreciate all players patience and enthusiasm for this quirky little mech game, hopefully we can boot up into shiny new-metal soon enough.

Stay frosty, DEAD_HANDs.
-PSC

A little behind on the rollout of patch 4.0.0. Testing will be this week and I plan to release the patch by end of March 2022.

A quick slice of what to expect in the patch:

• Fixed hard-crash deploy point selection bug.
  
• Rebuilt all campaign maps with entity, layout, and enemy updates.
  
• Refined several map objectives and added more environment detail.
  
• Fixed issue with AI death animations / model removal.
  
• 3D mech models for Hangar and Arming menus.
  
• 3D Player and Target HUD diagrams.
  
• Refactored AI stats per-difficulty level, reducing grind in earlier levels.
  
• improved AI pathfinding to get slightly better at cornering.
  

and a few more items.

Stay tuned, its very much work in progress.

Lampshaded a while back, this fairly large update adds new mechs to the player roster, some item reworks, and some nice fixes.

First up, metals.

[h2]Warden[/h2] Light mech and light mech hunter.
"MILITAR burned out their best hackers on black ICE breaking into a salvaged Federation data core. Amongst the encrypted modules was blueprints for a highly advanced light metal - the WARDEN."


Sporting 5 hardpoints, more armor for its weight class but less shields. The Warden keeps its weapons close to the chest, able to use its armor-panel arms for extra protection.

[h2]Sapper[/h2] Medium mech specialist and second-line support.
"SAPPER mechs were drafted and produced right before the Federation treaty was ratified. Off-world concerns asked for a strong second-line METAL to support other medium formations. What they got from the factories was dubbed the SAPPER based on its hardpoint configuration and shield output. "



8 hardpoints with half of them dedicated to module upgrades!

It has more shields than the Matok which gives it an uncanny ability to survive against focused fire. The module slots give the pilot a wide array of play style options even if the direct-fire weapons are some what limited.

[h2]Equipment Shakeup[/h2]


A while back Missile Lock-on was reworked. Players were having trouble figuring the mechanics out, so lock-ons were made easier. Due to this, the Advanced Target Module lost one of its primary use-cases; and it really wasn't used much either. To that end, I replaced with the a new item, Advance Ballistic Reloader. The ABR decreases reload-time for medium and large projectile weapons by 20% and they can be stacked!

Ditto for the [i[Heatsinks which replace the Large Sensor Array, heatsinks decrease the energy cost of medium/large energy weapons by 20%.

[h2]Newgame+[/h2]
Finally got around to making Newgame+ a thing. Upon completing the last mission of the main/extended campaign your save file will be flagged as Newgame+. It sets your saved map back to the first mission of the game but leaves everything you've unlocked in place!

Now you can rage through the campaign again with ALL the toys in the sandbox!

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• AI mech weapons on destroyed components were still being shown.
  
• Repair bay not updating HUD when destroyed weapons have been repaired.
  
• issue where AI would move backwards forever and get stuck.
  
• Weapon muzzle flash for players, they are now drawn where they should be on the mech.
  
• O2M1 - enemy destroyed counters for all difficulties.
  
• O1M4, O2M1 - pathfinding node graphs rebuilt.
  
• issue with player shield regen and ctrl-key regen.
  

[h2]Balance[/h2]

• Electro-static Repeater wind-up time increased, spread increased.
  
• Turbo charger now also buffs mech forward speed.
  
• Quantum Rifle - minor increase to shard max random.
  
• High-Strength Shield Emitters should be working as intended now.
  

[h2]Modding SDK work[/h2]
Proud to say I did a major clean-up of the code base to make modding easier.
Mech, Vehicle, and Item data files are now easier to read and edit, cutting down on redundant function calls.

I also implemented a Mod-flags system for player mechs; this allows modders to quickly stand up mechs that act like they're from certain other mech games.

Looking forward to producing more how-to articles and fan modding efforts!

[h2]Happy Holidays![/h2]
Last word, I'd like to wish everyone a happy holidays! I hope you all enjoy the results of another 3 months of hard work. 2021 was quite a year for battleMETAL and I think it really shines now.

stay frosty, DEAD_HANDS.

I set down to make battleMETAL back in 2016, by the time I had created a playable alpha in 2017 I realized that there was a fun game to be had in it. I built the game over roughly 5 years working in my free time on pretty much every part of the game. By the end of 2020 I felt it was time to release it otherwise I'd never have it 'ready'.

battleMETAL officially launched on Dec 23rd, 2020. However, over 2021, I found there were large parts of the game that could be improved or large bugs that needed addressing. Across the board, various important aspects of the game have been improved - networking/multiplayer, the UI, a few gameplay balance patches, and a massive overhaul to level textures and particle effects.

As a final hurrah, there will 2 new playable mechs ready for the 1-year anniversary of launch!

2021 has seen fantastic work to tune battleMETAL to a fine degree. Every player that has purchased a copy has my deepest gratitude. The total sales will probably never justify the herculean effort _but_ that's why this is a labor of love. I wanted to make sure battleMETAL was a fantastic experience, and add a new mech game to the somewhat quiet genre.

I would be thankful for you nominating battleMETAL for the "Labor of Love" Steam Award.

thank you.